Huntington's Chorea
...s(Clayman 548). There is no cure for this deadly disease, yet there are many drugs to help ease and suppress the Chorea. Until we find a cure, laboratory animals are being bred in the hope of duplicating the clinical features of HD so that researches can learn more about the symptoms and progression of HD(NINDS 1). Huntington’s Disease was first recognized as an inherited disorder in 1872 when a 22-year-old American doctor, George Huntington, wrote a paper called “On Chorea”(Phillips 1). George Huntington’s paper was later published and the disorder became known as Huntington’s Chorea. Chorea comes from the Greek and Latin word meaning “group of dances”. The term was given to many so-called “dancing disorders” that became noticed in the Middle Ages(Phillips 1). In early years, people with this “dancing disorder” were thought to be possessed by devils. Many people also thought that they were witches. It is believed that at least one of the alleged “witches” executed in Salem, Massachusetts in the 1960's had HD(Phillips 1). It took a long time to figure out what gene was responsible for producing such awkward behaviors. After a ten-year search, scientists announced in March 1993 that they had found the gene which caused HD(HD Facts). This was a major turning point in the history of HD. Researchers are now trying to find out the gene’s functions and how to prevent it. Huntington’s Chorea usually appears between the ages of thirty and fifty. This is very unfortunate because parents who find out that they have this disease also find out that they most likely passed it onto their children. There is another form of Huntington’s Disease called “Juvenile’s HD”. Juvenile HD develops before the age of twenty, progresses rapidly, and produces muscle rigidity in which the patient moves little, if at all(Huntington’s 1). The symptoms of HD fall into three categories: motor or movement symptoms, personality and behavioral changes, and cognitive decline(Robinson 2). Some symptoms include personality changes, depression, mood swings, involuntary movements, slurred speech, intoxicated appearance, and difficulty in swallowing. Chorea is the most common movement disorder. In HD, chorea often appears as facial twitc...